Problem

A picture speaks a thousand words, but what happens when you can't see pictures? Individuals who are visually impaired currently do not have a way to understand pictures in real time. This poses a problem in the education of students who are visually impaired and discourages them from pursuing a career in STEM fields, which rely heavily on image interpretation.

Solution

We have created HaptImage, an image accessing system which allows individuals who are visually impaired to use a portable controller with supporting software to explore images in real-time. Through the use of HaptImage we want to encourage students who are visually impaired to pursue education in STEM fields and be independent in their exploration of images.

Market & Competition

HaptImage will be available to all individuals with visual impairments. There are currently 10 million Americans with a visual impairment. Current products are bulky and require a long time to create an accessible image.Our goal is to develop a device that will provide real-time access to any image that an individual who is visually impaired would want to explore using a portable controller and supporting software.

Current Progress

HaptImage is currently protected by a patent filed by the Purdue Research Foundation in 2016. Currently, we are working with a minimum viable product we developed, while working on making the product more robust. We have already received feedback from educators in schools for the visually impaired expressing their interest in purchasing the device once it is available. We hope to work closely with similar schools so we can continue developing the system and working on any improvements.